my laptop battery is starting to ware down after 1 1/2 years of heavy use. its 6 cell, but while looking for a replacement saw 9 cell and even a 12 cell replacement. just wanted to know if anyone here made that upgrade and if there were any problems.

battery life is important to me. so i like the possible extended life. was it a linear improvement?

More cells = better run time. Downside is the increase in size and weight. If you use your machine AC for days, remove the battery. By keeping it plugged in, all the charge on/off cycles will kill it 50% faster than need be. I only really insert my T430 battery when I'm packing up for travel.

Li-Ion batteries are a strange beast compared to the nickel based rechargeable that we've probably been ingrained into thinking how we should handle rechargeable batteries.

For starters, there are the two ways to prolong Li-Ions

If you're not using them for long periods of times, keep them as cold as possible. The lose less energy this way.

Allowed charge cycles depend on how low you discharge it first. At best case, 100% discharge allows you 500 cycles. 25% discharge allows you 2500. If you do some math, you get more energy out of the battery if you recharge as often as possible

So contrary to what kleinkenstein said, you should actually keep Li-Ions charged as much as possible. Leaving the plug in won't harm it as the charging circuitry will shut off when it finds the battery is full.

Keep in mind that Li-Ions lose max capacity the moment their out of the factory anyway.

More cells = better run time. Downside is the increase in size and weight. If you use your machine AC for days, remove the battery. By keeping it plugged in, all the charge on/off cycles will kill it 50% faster than need be. I only really insert my T430 battery when I'm packing up for travel.

Do you have some dummy battery or something to cover the area when your battery is out? I'd worry about getting dirt and dust getting in there.

I got my battery plugged in and on AC all the time now. I hope I'm not ruining my battery.

Li-Ion batteries like being full as much as possible. The more you discharge it then recharge it, the more wear you put on the battery. However, people recommend taking it out if it's fully charged because if you're on AC power, you're probably doing something intensive which generates a lot of heat. And heat is a very bad thing on the life of a Li-Ion battery. If you're not doing anything real intensive even on AC, then it's fine to keep the battery in. The charging circuitry will just cut off when the battery is full.

As for a spacer, don't worry about it. Unless you use it in a really godawful dusty area.

Well, here's a question: did the laptop even have a 9 cell option to begin with? A lot of laptops use 6 cells as standard and you can still buy 9 cells later down the road. The best way around this would be to see if your laptop has a 9-12 cell from the manufacturer. If there is nothing official, then I wouldn't even buy a battery that claimed it's compatible for it from another vendor.

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